Wade in the water
" Wade in the Water " ( Roud 5439) is a Negro Spiritual from the 19th century, which was first published in 1901 in the book "New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers". The first sound recording of the song was made in 1925; since then there have been numerous recordings of the piece by well-known musicians in various musical styles, from gospel to folk to jazz , blues and soul . The most famous recordings of "Wade in the Water" include those of the Golden Gate Quartet (1948), the Ramsey Lewis Trio (1966) and Eva Cassidy (1997).
meaning
The song refers to texts in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible . The reference to the Old Testament is the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt , which is described in the book of Exodus . The refrain of the song ("Wade in the water / Wade in the water, children / God's gonna trouble the water": German: Wade in the water / Wade in the water, children / God will move the water ) refers to the Gospel of John :
"For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
“For at a certain time an angel of the Lord descended into the pool and moved the water; whoever stepped in first after the movement of the water became well, whatever illness he was afflicted with. "
history
“Wade in the Water” is one of the songs that slaves used to communicate with one another in the early and mid-19th century in order to organize their escape; these songs are known as the Songs of the Underground Railroad . "Wade in the Water" reminded the refugees to run in the water, for example, of streams, so that the search dogs of the slave owners lost their trail.
In 1866 the "Fisk Freed Colored School" was founded (today Fisk University ) to teach freed slaves. From 1871 onwards, students from the school were out as an a cappella singing group to raise money for the school. These “Fisk Jubilee Singers” had mainly Negro Spirituals in their repertoire , including “Wade in the Water”.
1901 published John Wesley Work II and his brother Frederick J. Work in the book "New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers" a collection of songs by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, including "Wade in the Water".
The first sound recording of the song was made in 1925 by the "Sunset Four Jubilee Singers". In 1939 and 1940 the music researcher Alan Lomax recorded the song. As a result there were numerous recordings of the song in different musical styles, from gospel to folk to jazz, blues and soul.
Selection of recordings
- 1925: Sunset Four Jubilee Singers
- 1939: The Charioteers
- 1946: Golden Gate Quartet
- 1954: Odetta on the album The Tin Angel - with Lawrence B. Mohr as "Odetta & Larry"
- 1958: "The Folksmiths" with Joe Hickerson on the album We've Got Some Singing To Do
- 1960: Ella Jenkins and the Goodwill Spiritual Choir on the album African American Folk Rhythms
- 1960: Johnny Griffin on The Big Soul Band album
- 1961: Bob Dylan on the album Live 1961-2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances (2001)
- 1963: Judy Henske on the album Judy Henske
- 1965: The Graham Bond Organization on The Sound of '67 album
- 1965: The Staple Singers on the Freedom Highway album
- 1966: Ramsey Lewis Trio on the album Wade in the Water
- 1966: Marlena Shaw - Let's Wade in the Water
- 1967: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass on the album Sounds Like ...
- 1967: Billy Preston on the Club Meeting album
- 1968: Big Mama Thornton on Ball n 'Chain
- 1968: Harvey Mandel on the album Cristo Redentor
- 1969: The Chambers Brothers on the album Love, Peace and Happiness
- 1971: Alex Harvey with "Rock Workshop" on the album Rock Workshop
- 1972: Peter Herbolzheimer with "Rhythm Combination & Brass" on the album My Kind of Sunshine
- 1972: Ellen McIlwaine on the Honkey Tonk Angel album
- 1997: Eva Cassidy on the album Eva by Heart (posthumously)
- 1997: Chanticleer , on the albums Reflections (An Anniversary Celebration) (1997) and A Portrait (2003)
- 2000: Mary Mary on the album Thankful
- 2002: Moses Hogan on the album Moses Hogan Singers: Choral Series
- 2008: Mavis Staples on the album Live: Hope at the Hideout
- 2010: Patty Griffin on the Downtown Church album
- 2011: Cerys Matthews on the Explorer album
- 2012: Tedeschi Trucks Band on the album Everybody's Talkin '
- 2016: PJ Harvey as the intro to River Anacostia
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Mike Hobart: The Life of a Song: 'Wade in the Water' . Financial Times , October 11, 2016 (English)
- ↑ Music on "Pathways to Freedom: Maryland & the Underground Railroad" (English)
- ↑ Wade in the Water on the pages of California State University, Fresno (English)
- ↑ The Charioteers on YouTube
- ↑ The Golden Gate Quartet on YouTube
- ↑ Odetta on YouTube
- ↑ Ella Jenkins on YouTube
- ↑ Johnny Griffin on YouTube
- ^ Judy Henske on YouTube
- ^ Graham Bond Organization on YouTube
- ↑ The Staple Singers on YouTube
- ↑ Ramsey Lewis Trio on YouTube
- ↑ Marlena Shaw on YouTube
- ↑ Herb Alpert on YouTube
- ↑ Billy Preston on YouTube
- ↑ Big Mama Thornton on YouTube
- ↑ Harvey Mandel on YouTube
- ↑ The Chambers Brothers on YouTube
- ↑ Alex Harvey / Rock Workshop on YouTube
- ↑ Peter Herbolzheimer on YouTube
- ↑ Eva Cassidy on YouTube
- ↑ Mary Mary on YouTube
- ↑ Moses Hogan Singers on YouTube
- ↑ Mavis Staples on YouTube
- ↑ Patty Griffin on YouTube
- ↑ Tedeschi Trucks Band on YouTube